


Tensions, Tea and High-Energy Astrophysics

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Grad Student Castiel, M/M, Mechanic Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-04-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 04:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1497487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is a rather over-worked Astrophysicist Grad student. Dean is his roommate and boyhood friend. Dean is headed for an all-out crush on Castiel and Castiel is headed for an all-out breakdown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. scientists are oblivious (and over-caffeinated)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. This is my first Destiel story. I hope to update a couple times a week. I would love comments telling me some good stuff/bad stuff/need to improve. I don't own any of these characters they belong to Supernatural and whoever holds the copyright. Hope you enjoy.

Dean Winchester was lounging on the couch in the living room, propped up on pillows and paging through a car restoration magazine when Castiel Novak walked in. His roomate was dressed in a rumpled blue sweater and was lurching slightly as he stepped through the door, as his leather messenger bag was overflowing with textbooks. Normally Dean would have poked fun at his rather douchey choice of backpack, but Castiel looked exhausted and stressed. 

“Hey Cas,” Dean said, sitting up “how was class?”

Cas sighed and deposited his bag onto their crème colored, second-hand armchair. 

“I've got three papers to write and two books to read tonight” he said wearily, rubbing his face “and the instructions on one of the essays is ridiculous. Honestly, you'd think a professor of Radiative Processes would know how to explain what she wants out of a simple paper.”

Cas trailed off as he wandered into the kitchen. Moments later, Dean heard the water sloshing into the electric kettle as Cas heated water for tea. 

Dean tossed his magazine onto a pile of Scientific American (Cas's). He was worried about his best friend. Ever since they were kids, Cas had been the brilliant one, just like Dean's brother, Sam. Not that Dean wasn't smart. He knew he had the potential to be something. Cas's dad, as well as various counselors, had tried to talk him into taking Engineering courses. Dean hadn't wanted any of that. He was perfectly happy working at his Uncle Bobby's garage. Bedsides, his wages was helping keep Sam on his feet while he was at Stanford and he was the sole provider for him and Cas, who was too busy being a Astrophysicist Graduate student to have a job. And being a Astrophysicist Grad student was hard. Every time Dean heard Cas muttering formulas to himself at three in the morning, or entered his room looking for a spare pillow only to find half a dozen empty tea mugs with crusted sugar at the bottom, Dean worried the work load was getting too heavy for him. 

Cas came back into the living room, clutching a steaming mug of black tea. He scooped up his messenger bag and headed to his bedroom, calling to Dean that he was going to do a Very Important Essay and that Dean should Absolutely Not Disturb Him. 

Dean ambled into the kitchen, looking for dinner. The cabinets were pretty sparse, but their was plenty of dry pasta and, most importantly, beer. Maybe he could convince/force Cas to eat some dinner. His phone chimed, and Dean slammed the cabinet door shut.

Sam had texted him, gabe maddie and some others meeting at the roadhouse tonight at six. you in? 

ill be there, Dean replied.

bring cas. dude could use some fun, Sam's next text read.

ill pass it along. see you in a few. Dean sent the text and headed back to the couch with a beer, in the hopes of catching the tail end of a Dr. Sexy MD rerun. That was one upside of living with a oblivious Astrophysicist. There was no one to judge his entertainment preferences. 

The title sequence had barely run when Cas walked in. Dean quickly changed the channel, though he didn't know why. The dude wouldn't notice if he was watching Dirty Dancing. Not that he had.

Cas slumped onto the sofa, shifting slightly. He hated the sofa. When they bought it at goodwill he had complained about it being lumpy and ugly. Dean had loved the way it reminded him of the threadbare, upholstered sofa in his house when he was a kid. Plus there were two matching armchairs. Cas wriggled around a little more, and rested his head on Dean's shoulder.

Dean froze. Cas felt close, casually intimate. He could smell his organic-no-chemicals-lavender-hippie-shampoo. He didn't know how to react when Cas did little things like that. Lately the little physical touches had become more frequent. A brush on the hand when reaching for the salt, or a quick hug when Dean dropped him off at classes. They always a fluttering in Deans stomach, but he didn’t want to think about what that might mean. 

“I don't feel like doing my paper” Cas grumbled into his shoulder.

Dean laughed, pushing down the butterflies, “good, that means your not the worker-robot I though you were. You should come to the roadhouse.” 

Cas pulled away, leaning against the armrest. Dean relaxed his shoulders. 

“Will Gabe and Sam be there?” he asked.

“Yeah” Dean responded “the usual group.”

Cas wrinkled his nose. Dean kind of wanted to reach up and smooth it out. But he didn't. Instead he patted Cas on the shoulder and said “maybe next time. Get some work done.”

Cas stood and stretched.

“I will” he called as he headed back to his room “oh, and if you watch a movie again, keep the volume down will you? I don't feel like hearing 'shes like the wind' while I try to read a book on Cosmology and Galaxy Formation.”

“Unbelievable” Dean muttered, as Cas left the room.


	2. that chapter where dean just sort of panics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title is explanatory. Jo and Ellen make an appearance at the roadhouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to dedicate this chapter to luna bars and The Wonder Years for helping keep my attention on this chapter. No intentional character-bashing, I'm just using them to write a story.

Dean slammed the door of his Impala and hurried through the cold February night into the lighted warmth of the roadhouse. Walking through he doors he waved at the two women commanding the bar, Ellen Harvelle and her daughter, Jo, who was working a job there while she attended the local community college. Dean had known both of them since he was a kid, He had even dated Jo back in high school. 

“Dean!” Sam called, waving his freakishly large arm around. He was seated at a large table in the back, with his best friend Gabriel's feet in his lap. Two of his friends form Stanford, Anna and Jess, were seated beside them.

Dean slid into a chair beside Anna.

“Hey Dean” she said, smiling at him.

Dean gave a rather forced grin back. Anna was pretty hot and had had a thing for Dean for a long time. They had hooked up a couple times since they had met, but lately Dean just wasn’t feeling it. He couldn’t help noticing that her shiny, blond hair wasn’t short and black and didn’t stick up when she ran her hands through it (Anna never did) and that her eyes weren’t blue and hazy from staying up half the night studying for a Physics exam. 

Jo arrived at their table to take their orders. She and Dean greeted each other cheerfully. 

“So, wheres your friend?” Gabriel asked, swinging his feet off Sam's lap and pulling up his chair. 

“Who, Castiel?” Dean responded, taking a drink of the beer Jo had brought him (without him asking, too, that was what he called a friend) “oh he's studying. Probably holed up at home.”

“Thats a shame” Gabriel said, winking “I've missed his handsome face.” 

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Gabriel was into Cas (he was into anything that moved) and Dean couldn’t help feeling a tiny twinge of jealously. 

“Anyway,” Gabriel said, sliding a napkin across the table to Dean with a number written on it, as Jo arrived with their drinks “tell him to call me sometime, or something.”

Ok, maybe more then a little twinge. 

Talk turned to cramming for exams, parties and a particularly annoying professor of Sam's. Dean laughed along, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit out of place. It was his choice not to go to college, and Dean didn't regret it. But sometimes, when hanging out with Sam's college buddies, he couldn’t help feeling like the burnout older brother of the brilliant lawyer prodigy. 

An hour later found Dean sitting at the bar talking to Anna. Gabriel and Sam had disappeared into the bathrooms fifteen minutes ago, and Jess was chatting with a girl she knew from her Bio class. 

“So Dean,” said Anna, taking a sip from his beer, “I've got some good stuff at my place, better then this roadhouse tap. Want to head over to my place?” 

Dean took a long drink to avoid answering. He knew he should want to go home with Anna. She was attractive and (not to give too much information) she was talented in bed. So why didn't he want to?

Anna saved him from answering that terrifying question by tugging on his sleeve and saying “come on Dean, it'll be fun.”

Dean stood suddenly and heard his stool clatter.

“I, um, can't” he stuttered, pulling on his jacket “not, uh, not tonight.”

He waved a hasty goodbye to Sam and Gabriel, who had just emerged from the bathroom, oddly flushed and muttered something about “work tomorrow” to Anna.

Dean fell into the front seat of the Impala, but he didn't start the engine. Instead, he just sat there, breathing heavily because he was stupidly angry at Gabriel and because he didn't want to sleep with Anna and because now he knew the answer to that terrifying question he had asked himself back at the restaurant. He was in love with Castiel Novak.


	3. i wonder if gerard way can hold his whiskey?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas lets himself go. My Chemical Romance graces my pages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own My Chemical Romance. I wish I did. Enjoy the chapter.

Dean's realization that he was in love with Cas was less of an epiphany and more of a long-term thought he'd now come to terms with. Dean was pretty sure he'd known from the day Cas had fallen off his bike and broken his arm when they were eight. Dean had very nearly had a panic attack because he thought Cas had died. 

Dean woke up the next morning with this in mind, feeling peaceful and actually quite well-rested as he had left the roadhouse at only eight-thirty the night before. The house was quiet- Cas left for classes at six-thirty on Tuesday mornings. It was seven now. Dean wandered into the kitchen. The coffee pot was half-full on the counter. Dean poured himself a cup and sipped it, black, as he stared thoughtfully up at the mobile hanging above the table. Dangling from it were models of the sun and planets. Cas liked it because it was the only correct model of a solar system he had seen on a commercial mode. Dean had bought it as a house warming gift when the first moved in. 

For the rest of the day, Dean felt completely out of it. He fumbled an oil change and spilled a Dr. Pepper he was handing to a costumers kid. 

“Whats wrong with you today, boy?” his Uncle Bobby asked “your actin' like a twelve-year-old-girl with a crush” 

And he was, Dean thought as he drove back home. He has even blushed when Sam had called, asking if Cas was ok. Feeling glad that Sam couldn't see him, Dean had assured him that Cas was fine, just studying hard. 

By the time Dean had gotten back to the apartment, he felt under control. Cas was his best friend, he reminded himself, he could handle himself around him, even if he did have a not-so-little-crush-on-him.

Dean headed up the stairs, but stopped dead when he reached the door. It was slightly ajar, music pouring from the gap. 

“And whats the worst that I can say?” a voice wailed, “is it better if I stay?”

Dean groaned. When Cas started listening to My Chemical Romance, he must be in bad shape. Cas normally like soft classical music when studying and would sing along to Dean's classic rock tapes in the car. Dean had only heard him blare his sad, wailing, tragic music three times before. Once, after Dean's fathers funeral, and twice after Cas's brothers, Micheal and Lucifer had moved across the country, to New York, to attend college.

Dean pushed open the door cautiously. The living room was dim, lit only by a black floor lamp. Cas was slumped on the couch, listing to the music seeping from the speakers. A bottle of whiskey from Dean's don't-fucking-touch-shelf in the kitchen was open on the coffee table in front of him.

“Hey Dean” Cas slurred miserably, catching sight of Dean. 

“Cas” Dean sighed, snapping off the music “what happened?”

“I can't do it Dean” Cas sobbed, collapsing onto the sofa “I can't, I can't, I can't”

Dean strode over to Cas and put his arms around him, pulling him close. 

“Its ok” he whispered to him “its ok.”

“Come on” Dean whispered to him “lets get you to bed.”

He settled Cas on the bed, pulling the curtains on the windows closed. As Dean went to pull the blankets over him,Cas caught his arm.

“Stay” Cas croaked to him, clutching his wrist.

“Ok” Dean breathed, laying down beside Cas and pulling the blankets over both of them.

Cas settled into Dean's chest. Dean stroked his hair.

Dean pulled Cas close, trying to shield him from the work and the books and the classes and all of his troubles.


	4. whiskey sheets and sesame chicken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little more about Cas's past with breakdowns. And theres some hand-holding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad people are liking this! I would appreciate and comments giving good things/bad things.

Dean awoke the next morning awash in sheets that smelled of whiskey. There was a cold space on the bed beside him. Cas was gone.

Dean lay back, letting the events of the night before come back to him. Cas had hit a low last night. This had happened once before, in Cas's Senior year of High School. Cas's dad had been away, as usual, so Dean had let himself into the Novak home. He had found Cas on the floor of his bedroom, a complete mess, surrounded by his AP textbooks. Dean had comforted Cas, made him tea and talked about getting anxiety medication. Nothing had ever come out of the discussion though. Cas had pulled himself together, gradated with a 4.0 GPA and never looked into any kind of medication. Dean wondered if he should have tried harder. 

Dean entered the silent kitchen. Their was an empty coffee mug in the sink, the surfaces were wiped, and their was a note on the table. Dean picked it up and read it.

Dean-

I'm sorry about last night. I left for my eight-thirty Physics of  
the Interstellar Medium class. We'll talk when I get home.

Dean checked his watch. It was nine AM. Shit. He was late for work.

Dean walked through the door that evening, smelling of oil and sweat. None of these smells could overpower the ones coming from the kitchen. Dean walked in, wondering if Cas had cooked.

“Hey Dean” Cas said, smiling “I brought home Chinese”

Dean pulled upt the chair in front of Cas and heaped fried rice and sesame chicken on his plate.

“Hungry?” Cas asked, grinning.

“You have no idea” Dean replied “so we gonna talk about last night?”

Cas sighed, toying with the napkin holder.

“I'm really sorry” he began softly “really I am. That was really irresponsible of me”

Dean put his hand on Cas's hesitantly.

“Dude, its ok” Dean said “seriously. I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. You...you scared me”

“I know” Cas replied, taking a ragged breath “I've decided to drop a couple of my extra classes. Also, I'm going to get medication. I can't jeopardize my future again.”

“Cas” Dean said, squeezing his hand “I don't want you to jeopardize yourself again, ok?”

Cas smiled slightly.

“Ok”


	5. just another romanticized coffee shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean gets a little bit jealous again. Also, I think 50% of the words in this chapter are some variation of "launched" or "wrapper."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the awesome comments I've gotten! Shoutout to my English class for getting canceled so I could wrote this outside in the sun and dodge awkward questions from passers-by about what I'm writing.

“Dean”

“Dean”

“Dean I am trying to work”

“Shoot one more straw wrapping at me and I am going hit you with his textbook”

Dean grinned up at Cas's disgruntled expression. 

They were seated at a table in one of the coffee shop near their apartment. Cas had his textbooks spread over the table writing several Physics papers. Dean was drinking black coffee, blowing straw wrappers at Cas, and taking sidelong glances at the adorable way he bit his lip while he studied.

“Hows class?” Dean asked, blowing another wrapper at him.

“Fine” Cas replied absently “I've been looking into post Grad school jobs. Lots of research facilities and University’s want me. I even got an offer from Cambridge.”

“Wow” Dean said. He was impressed, and a little scared. He didn't want Cas to leave, especially all the way to England. 

To mask his nerves, Dean said in a teasing voice “maybe you'll meet some English guy. Get a cute boyfriend.”

“Shut up” Cas said, blowing a wrapper at Dean, launching it at him with surprising accuracy. 

“Oh it is on” Dean said, laughing and shooting a wrapper at him.

In the end, the waitress asked them to do their “schoolwork” elsewhere.


	6. to be fair, they did look like a couple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost kiss? One of my favorites to write.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to hazelnut macchiatos and computer outlets at Starbucks. And a shoutout to the great reception this story has gotten.

Dean buttoned up his one semi-nice shirt in the bathroom mirror. He could barely see through the steam wafting through the small room. Dean was getting ready to attend one of Cas's lectures. Although Cas was a grad student, colleges and theaters often asked him to give talks. Mostly, Dean declined the invitations, not wanting to bring back the “burnout older brother” feelings. Lately, however, he was trying to be there for Cas and his work more, especially after Cas's therapist had pulled him aside and told Dean how important it was for Cas to have support from his friends.

Dean turned up his collar against the wind as he strode towards the lecture hall, cursing the chilly breeze (isn't California supposed to be war?). He slid through the back door of the hall and into the backstage area of the small auditorium.

“Hey Cas” Dean said approaching him. Cas was holding a clipboard and mouthing his speech under his breath. He looked up and smiling as Dean approached. 

“Its good to have you here” Cas said, smiling in a strained way.

“Half of this shot is gonna go straight over my head” Dean said, laughing, “but its good to be here. You nervous?”

Cas nodded, blushing a little.

“Well, you know what my dad used to say” Dean said, stepping closer to Cas, “no one can be nervous with a straight tie. How'd you manage to make such a mess,anyway?”

Cas giggled and held still as Dean undid his tie, looped it around, and tied the entire thing over for him. Dean let his hand lingered as he pulled it straight. He and Cas were so close, and Cas was angling his face up and Dean only needed to lower his head when-

“Mr. Novak?” a high voice came from behind them. Dean stepped away quickly.

A young girl- early twenties probably- was standing in front of them, clutching a clipboard. She had brown eyes and glossy brown hair tied up into a ponytail.

“Is this your boyfriend?” the girl asked, smiling good-naturedly at them.

“No, uh, this is my roommate, Dean” Cas stuttered “what can I do for you, Madison?”

“Professor Collins wants you to know that its time for you to go on” Madison said, looking a bit awkward. 

“Of course!” Cas exclaimed. Then, to Dean's surprise, Cas turned and gave him a hug.

“See you after the show” Cas said, pulling away “I'll meet you in the car, ok?”

“Yeah, sure” Dean said, blushing “good luck”

Cas walked off, shepherded by Madison, who still looked a little embarrassed.


	7. the big k

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title says it all. Sorry for all the rain in this story, but I love the sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in the mood to post two chapters. Thank you all for reading this story! This story is over, so please tell me your impressions!

The lecture went completely over Deans head. The only parts he understood were the buts where Cas welcomed the crowd, and thanked them for coming. Basically, what you'd expect your average six-year-old to understand. Then again, it was Astrophysics. 

Still, he cheered extra hard at the end of the lecture. It made him feel proud to see Cas standing in front of a large crowd, talking about what he loved to study. His voice seemed to raise excitedly and his eyes glowed. Cas really loved what he did. Also it was cute. Scratch that, downright adorable. 

Dean sat in the car, listening to the rain drum on the car roof, waiting for Cas to get out of the lecture hall. The rain was getting worse, and Dean was debating just leaving Cas, when a dark figure ripped open the door and slid in.

“Hey! Watch the upholstery!” Dean grumbled to Cas, who was soaking wet.

“I nearly drowned out there” Cas exclaimed, ignoring Dean's complaints “thought you would leave me”

“Nah” Dean said, trying to sound offhand “you've got the change for the toll” 

They sat in silence for a few moments.

“So, are we driving or..?” Cas asked “I'm hungry”

“We're not going anywhere in this” Dean said, gesturing at the pounding rain. 

“Dammit” Cas said “did you bring a deck of cards?”

“Yeah” Dean said sarcastically “right along with my travel-size hand sanitizer and a ziplock baggie of cheerios”

They sat in silence for a while longer.

“Thanks for coming tonight” Cas said, turning to him.

“It was fun” Dean answered, looking at his face in the the bluish rainy light.

“No it wasn't” Cas snorted “you didn't understand a word of it” 

“Yeah, but” Dean lowered his voice “I like listening to you”

Their faces were close together again, and the car was dark and Madison wasn't here to interrupt. So Dean did it. He closed the gap and moved closer to Cas and Cas did to and their mouths were together and Cas's lips were still kind of damp from the rain and it was perfect. 

Cas pulled away. Dean did too. 

“So” said Cas.

“So” said Dean “you wanna go get some food or something?”

“Sure” said Cas “lets go”

Cas held his hand all the way to the restaurant.


End file.
